File box closure



1944- I H. L. FELLOWES I 2,339,691

FILE BOX CLOSURE Filed Dec. 21, 1942 Patented Jan. 18, 1944 FILE BOX CLOSURE Harry L. Fellowes, Chicago, 111., assignor to Bankers Box Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois 7 Application December 21, 1942, Serial No. 469,638

2 Claims.

My invention relates to a file box of the general type disclosed in my earlier Patents Nos. 1,574,737 and 2,281,486.

In file boxes of this general type it is the practice to close the top by means of flaps which swing downwardly and inwardly from hinged connection with the upper edges of the sides. To secure these flaps, certain fastening devices are customarily used whichoften include such elements as attached strings or tapes, eyelets, anchoring buttons and the like. Heretofore the reduction to a minimum of the stock-usually corrugated board stock-employed in the closure flaps, has been at the expense of more fastening elements, or, conversely, an economy in the number of fastening elements has been at the expense of using more stock for the flaps.

A major object of my invention, accordingly, is a construction and arrangement of flaps and fastenings in which there is an economy of both flap stock and fastening elements, whereby each is minimized without the minimizing of on being at the expense of increasing the other.

Yet by my invention the security of the fastening down of the closure flaps is not impaired and the fastening is effectedin such way as to minimize the danger of the flaps bulging at midpoints of their edges despite the fact that the fastening elements are confined to the ends of the box.

Another advantage of my invention is that it minimizes the number of metal fittings-metal eyelets, metal staples, or the like-employed in the fastening devices.

More specifically, and in its preferred form, my invention uses a pair of closure flaps hingedly connected to the upper edges of the longitudinal sides and of such width that they but narrowly overlap. The flaps are held down and in overlapping position by asingle anchored tape and anchoring button fastening, at each end of the box. The tape at each end of the-box is anchored to, or passes through, only one of the flaps. The single fastening device, at each end of the box, is calculated to exert a longitudinal pull on the overlying flap margin. This pull holds the overlying flap down against the underlying flap margin throughout the entire length of the forth in the following description of a specific embodiment thereof and illustrated in th accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a file box embodying my invention, in its closed and fastened position; I

Fig. 2 is a similar perspective of the the flaps in semi-open position; and

Fig. 3 is an end view of the closed and fastened box of Fig. 1.

File boxes of the general type shown in the drawing are most frequently used for storage of papers transferred from more active files. Usually they are of height and, width to accommodate the papers in the same position, relationship and sequence as they occupied in the more actively consulted file drawers or the like. To facilitate the insertion of the papers and also the subsequent removal or consultation of the stored papers, it is desirable that the box open at the top, which is most conveniently done by scoring and folding over flap extensions from the upper edges of the side walls. The fastening devices for holding down the flaps are usually of a type which protrude as little as possible from the walls of the box and yet permit the ready reopening of the box for inspection of the contents.

The box here illustrated is of that general type and is disclosed in greater detail in my abovementioned earlier patents. It is a one-piece paper board box consisting of end walls 10, side walls ll, full width lateral bottom flaps 12, end bottom flaps 13 which underlie the bottom flaps I2 and are secured in position by tensile fabric strips 14 adhered to their inward margins and to the side walls ll, end top flaps I5, and lateral top flaps lfia and l6b which overlie the end top flaps l5 and constitute the main closure for the box.

The lateral top flaps 16a and 16b are not full width flaps; instead, they ar slightly wider than half the Width of the box so that they narrowly overlap, as shown in Figs. 1 and3.

A single fastening or tape-anchoring button 22 is fixed to the outside surface of each end wall In as by the usual rivettherethrough. A fastening string or tape 23 is fixedly anchored to the button. The overlapping flap lfib has a hole therethrough; adjoining each .end cornerv and these holes are eyeleted as shown at 24. Preferably, the underside of the flap adjoining the hole is reenforced by an adhered fabric piece 25. And preferably also the corner is obliquely scored as at 26 to provide a dog ear embracing the eyeleted holes whereby the corner of the flap may readily be turned. up for threading the tape 23 upwardly box with therethrough. The tape is pulled taut and wrapped around the button to anchor it thereto. In this manner the overlying flap l6b is held down and it in turn holds down the underlying flap IGa.

Because the fastening mploys the flexible tapes 23 and the anchoring buttons are beneath and longitudinally beyond the overlapping. flap, the tapes, upon. being drawn taut, subject the lateral margin of the overlapping flap to a maintained longitudinal tension which tends to pull the longitudinal margin of the overlying flap into a straight line, which tension resists any tendency to bulge upwardly intermediate the ends. And this marginal tension in turn tends to hold the mid-regions of the longitudinal margin of the underlying flap 16a against bulging upwardly. Thereby there is a minimizing of-the tendency to open up gaps through which dust may have access to the contents, and also it tends to preserve a flatness for the top which will not readily catch on other boxes or other articles pushed across the top of the box.

Because the eyeleted hole is close tothe corner of the overlying flap and the tape passesover and downwardly about the corner of the flap, there is alessened danger of the corner of the flap-being inadvertently turned up.

Since the fastening is effected through flexible tapes which can be drawn to any degree of-t'autness and anchored, thus taut, to the buttons, it is possible for the fastening means to take up any stretch which may develop from time to time in the overlapping flap or in the fastening tapes. Thus, the tautness of theflap in holding it down flat against bulging, can be maintained despite frequent opening "and closing of the box, which would not be true of those types of fasteners which allowed for no takeup.

The angular intersections of the four vertical walls with their respective top flaps provides a fairly rigid rectangular frame at the top of the box against which the fastening tapes react. in maintaining the longitudinal tautness of the overlapping flap margin. This is true even though the box is not sufficiently filled fromend to end for the contents .tore'sist endwise'collapse of the box.

As is best seen in Fig. 3, the fastening button 22 i is not in alignment with the eyelet 24 but is offset laterally therefrom a slight-distance on the side away'from the hinged edge of the overlapping-flap lfib. This offset issuificient' to ensure that the tautness of the fastening tape will exert a small component of lateral 'pull upon. the flap as wellat the button on the end wall, passing the tape through the eyelet, and releasably re-anchoring it on the button, as shown, a block-.andtackle advantage is gainedin easily pullingthe flap more taut.. Also, the strain is.distributed betweentwo reachesof tape, instead of being borne by a single reach. Hence, I prefer this fastening arrangement to modifications where the end of the single tape is fixed to the corner of the flap and the tape is releasably anchored to the button, or where the ends of two separate tapes are fixed to the corner and button, respectively, and the two tapes are tied together to hold the flap down.

By narrowly overlapping the top flaps of the box, thev fastening means need engage. only the overlapping, flap, whereby the expense of perforating, reenforcing and eyeletting the underlying flap is eliminated; the underlying flap may be left free of any fittings. Yet the narrow overlapping of the flaps requires but little more paper boardv stock than if. the flaps did not overlap but made albuttioint (:which, as previously indicated, would then require a fastening fitting on both flaps).

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Closure means for a paper board storage box having end walls, side walls and a bottom, said closure means comprising flaps folded inwardly from the top edges of the side walls as integral extensions thereof, said flaps having widths but little greater than half the width of the box whereby one of said flaps narrowly overlaps the other, and a fastening tape at each end of the box, each fastening tape being tensionally interposed between an end wall and one end of that lateral margin of the overlapping flap which lies away from the side wall of which that flap is an extension, said tapes maintaining said lateral margin of the-overlapping fiap-underlongitudinal tensile stress for the purpose of preventing such margin from buckling out of substantially 'continuous contact with the flap which it overlies.

2. A storage box for papers and the like, comprising a cardboard container, formed of a single sheet of corrugated cardboard having portions forming a substantially rectangular bottom; rectangular sides, and rectangular ends, said sheet having portions carried by each end forminginwardly extending end top flaps, and said she t having a portion carried by-each of the sides of the box forming a pair of overlapping side top flaps, the first of said side top flaps being' arranged under the second and being characterized by the absence of securing devices and engaging the, tops of said end topflaps, and the second of said side top flaps being provided with an eyelet adjacent each of its free corners, an anchoring member carried by each end wallofsaidbox and located adjacent the top edge of said end wall, each of said anchoring members being offset slightly with respect to the eyelet in-the side'- top flap adjacent the anchoring member, the offset being in a direction toward the edge of the sec- 0nd side top flap, and a separate tension member for each end of the box, said tension member passing through said eyelet and having two strands connected tosaid anchoring means at each end-of saidbox, whereby thesec'on'd side top flap is drawn toward the overlapping position and tensioned longitudinally at its edge portion and the first top flap is'maintainedin closed-condition by the tension applied tothe second top 

